


Secrets of the Night

by victorianvirgil



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, also not major character death but kinda?, and virgil loves his over the top extra as hell boyfriend, but he just loved virgil and it’s cute, idk it makes sense when you read, like seriously how is he so extra, roman is a fucking over the top fuck but I love him, so this entire this is misleading you gotta get through it, they’re in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 16:46:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18450602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/victorianvirgil/pseuds/victorianvirgil
Summary: Roman had seen death before, had slithered out of its clutches before while he watched others fail to do the same. Watched his family, his lover, and his people fruitlessly wriggle in its grasp. But after a battle so great that only Roman was left standing, the young king wondered if his escape was an act of mercy or a punishment.That is, until he sees Virgil again.





	Secrets of the Night

The fog settled over the field in thick swirls of gray, washing over the bloody battle ground in waves. Thousands upon thousands of bodies littered the green field like bundles of seaweed, completely motionless for the first time in their lives. Bloodied faces were indistinguishable from one another, not that there was a soul around to identify them. At least not one stable enough to do so.

He stood in the midst of the field, the center of the most catastrophic storm with his dark, curly hair catching in the whispering wind, white armor stained red from friend and foe alike, and hazel eyes closed. Every breath he took was shattered, a struggle to breathe air without the pollution of battle cries, profanity, and last breaths. Of course, he prefered laughter to all of the above, but he would take anything over the deafening silence of the sweet breeze contradicting the gore in front of him.

The king’s subjects had sworn by him, the knight’s troops had fought with him, and now, all that was left of Roman was his name for he belonged to no person now, there was nothing left of him. And he didn’t want there to be.

Tears glistened down his cheeks as he fell to his knees, sinking into the puddle of gods-know-what while struggling to open his eyes. The sight before him had been too much to handle, too gruesome for a young king who hadn’t wanted war, too hellish for a boy aged only sixteen and had seen more than any teenager should - had seen death and war. Who had been as unfortunate enough to survive them both.

“What would bring me the honor of meeting you again, my king?”

The disembodied voice didn’t sneer as it had done so months before, a week before Roman had been quickly coronated following his father’s death. Snuck out of the castle as he evaded Death’s chilling clutches, the only royal to do so.

Roman released a breathy laugh as he felt the man’s fingers against his neck, the tips trailing down his spine and resting on his hip as he crouched over him. “You’re not him, Death. I know you have made him your slave in hopes of luring me into your awaiting arms, but do you know what his last words were to me?”

Death was silent, him and all those he had reaped during the battle.

“He told me to live,” Roman continued, squeezing his eyes tightly shut as if attempting to grasp the memory of his fallen lover, “even if my life means nothing to me, nothing to you, and nothing to anyone. To live for him, no matter the cost.”

The vessel Death used was smaller than Roman, the spirit softer but darker, beautiful and eyes harboring the secrets of the night. He whispered the king’s name, cool touch slipping into a crack in the armor. Becoming more and more tangible with every second, and Roman could hardly stand the feel of him.

“And,” Roman said, voice dead in the reaper’s ears, “I don’t seek your pity for me or my people. Nor your mercy.”

“Then you shouldn’t expect either, love,” his voice whispered, lips gently brushing against the back of the king’s neck. He shivered in response and Death couldn’t help the small sigh he emitted, as if capable of feeling the love his vessel had felt in life for the king. “Not from anyone but me.”

“You’re not Virgil,” Roman repeated, but he didn’t attempt to rise or struggle away from Death. He knew his place was among his brothers and sisters, besides his lover who awaited him in the heavens. Not now though, not for years and years when his time actually came. And then, “My people are dead.”

“As they should be. The clouds and the gods that reign above them owe nothing to the world, so why carry the burden of rain for all eternity to keep you all alive?” the cloaked figure countered, twirling a lock of the king’s hair around one of his slender fingers.

“It was what I was destined for, what my people died for. So I may live and win the favor of the gods, to bring light back to a world fallen into darkness.” His voice no louder than a whisper was hardly heard above the breeze. Behind his closed eyelids, he could see as a god would upon looking down at them. Two young men,  _ boys _ , one a deathly shade of pale and the other with blood flowing through his vein and down his face. Roman’s hair was snarled and his cheeks were damp with tears, and he was unable to rise from his kneeling position. Behind him, Virgil remained in a crouch with his hands lovingly running up and down Roman’s body as if unbelieving of the fact that he had the chance to do so again. That a week after his death and he could still touch Roman, as if he didn’t know what that meant.

Roman wouldn’t blame the gods for laughing at him, at their chosen one choosing death.

When Virgil didn’t answer, Roman sighed. What else should he have expected? Death had attempted to show him mercy, to guide him towards the inevitable by the hand of a loved one. The one he loved most. But no one could be Virgil, mimic the everpresent smirk or the warmth of his touch. Even the master of shadows paled to the comfort of Virgil’s silence. It was then that Roman realized that the only way to ever see him again was to join him. To get it over with.

“Before we go, let me at least ask you this. Will I join him, whether it be heaven or hell?”

A victorious grin spread across Death’s lips, wrapping his arm around Roman’s waist while pressing a hand between his shoulder blades. “Now what would be the fun in telling you that?”

But with a final kiss to the back of his neck, he whispered softly into his ear, “He loved you, know that. With all his heart and I can even feel it as I wear his image. I don’t think any human has ever loved another more.”

With those final words, Death plunged his hand into the king’s back, hearing him cry out in agony as his soul was ripped clean from his body. His hazel eyes had opened at the first feeling of the puncture, instinct kicking in as he turned to look up at his gods in the clouds.

Roman’s body fell limp, the king lying in the center of the sea of the fallen. It was poetic, as far as Death knew the word, and while shedding Virgil’s skin, his job was complete.

The last soul reaped, and of course he had been joined with his lover the second his world faded to black. Leaving Death to his own devices on the deserted planet.

-

The knock on Roman’s door pulled him out of his head, his room quickly adorning itself in its usual golds and reds in favor of the death and decay it had bore only moments before. “Come in,” he said, but Virgil was already in the room.

The darker man only had a brow raised, eyeing the still-shifting room around them. “You have to stop imagining our deaths, Roman. It’s not romantic, and I’m not flattered.”

Roman laughed, cheeks slightly red from the other having stumbled upon his scene, but he didn’t think too much of it as he closed the distance between him and Virgil to kiss his cheek softly. Virgil had walked in on him numerous times before, occasionally on much more traumatic things.

“Come now, Virgil,” Roman began, hand slipping to the back of Virgil’s neck to pull him closer. In turn, Virgil’s hand slid to his hip just as it had in Roman’s dreams. Where it belonged. “It’s kind of sweet. Plus, I can hardly help it. Once my mind conjures something up, it will not be put to rest until the drop of the curtains.”

“And I am always there, making it hard for the real me to sleep?”

He shrugged, “Hardly my fault, I’m in love with you, after all, with all my heart and soul.”

“Well put them both to rest because I’m exhausted.”

Roman merely grinned, pulling away from Virgil to fix his door. It was always left partially open, just a crack, or they would be stuck in the land of dreams forever. Which didn’t seem like a bad thing until Prince Roman and Knight Virgil were battling dragon after dragon, waiting for the inevitable when Patton opened the door to grab them for dinner. Sometimes it felt like years passed in a matter of hours, the two growing old together over and over again.

Sometimes, it was all Roman could think about.

Once satisfied that if needed, they had a mean to escape, Roman laced his hand in Virgil’s and guided him towards his plush king-size bed. They laid down and the room changed colors in order to accommodate Virgil and allow him to feel more at home. The pure gold and deep reds bowed to purple and silver, complimenting one another just as the two men in bed did.

And with a final kiss goodnight, they slept like the dead, the room quiet around them as they waited for Roman’s wildest dreams to manifest. But in Virgil’s arms breathing in the scent of his lover, nothing besides the dark warmth of a perpetual love took hold. Only with Virgil could Roman ever truly put his mind to rest, free of Death and those he took, free of false titles granted to him. Only with Virgil was he truly happy.

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys!
> 
> so this started off as a drabble (seriously, the doc title was “dribble drabble” and I was convinced it would be no longer than 500 words) but I kinda fucked with it and kept going? idk it’s short but sweet
> 
> I found a prompt for this in my notes (originally written about two girls and had a very, very different ending) and thought what the hell, I had writer’s block for the Large Fucking Fic i’m writing and figured I’d be productive in another way. plus, the star wars teaser trailer came out (yes, I know this is dating this SO HARD) and my star wars playlist is edgy as fuck so I was vibing.
> 
> anyway, I hope you enjoyed!!!
> 
> love you all,  
> ronnie <3


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